Kingdom Hearts: Smoke and Mirrors
by BenevolenceinViolet
Summary: Aurore and Dellyn are twins, neither of them expected their lives would change because of a stupid gift. A stupid gift they didn't even want. Chapter 5 up
1. Prologue

**A/N:** This isn't a cheesy "hot kh boy x oc" story, I want this to focus on the plotline. Of course, there will be a few moments of fluffy stuff, but I want this to be about the adventure. If I go all non-adventure at any time, please tell me and I will fix it :) ENJOY!

**Prologue**

Thunder crashed and echoed, bouncing down the castle corridors like hundreds of loose marbles. His feet stormed heavy on the stone steps, his voice a low mutter as he spoke to an unseen ally, "I'll have them. They will do this for me and I will learn it and control it. They will teach me."

Somewhere ahead of him, a heavy wooden door slammed shut, the sound of a deadbolt humming into the socket. A terrified cry was muffled slightly by the thick grain, something stifling it quickly. His lips twitched with maddened smile, his eyes glowing with greed and the oncoming of tyranny, "Girls," he said loudly, his booming voice washing out the thunder, "Please open the door so daddy can come inside. Girls?" he waited a moment, the attic door now in view of his hastening footsteps. No reply. "I'm going to count to three."

Behind the door, two girls no older than nine huddled beside a full length mirror, swathed in a grayish cloth. The stared at each other, eyes red and brimming again with tears of terror, and squeezed one another tightly. They heard him begin to count, "One". Frantically, one of the girls pushed away from her sister, reaching up to grab the sheet between her fists.

The other reached for her elbow, "Aurore! We can't!

Aurore turned and glowered fiercely, her red eyes glowing with rage, "He'll kill us for something we didn't even want. Shut up and close your eyes."

"Two." His voice was louder, he must've been right outside the door.

The girl yanked, the sheet spilled down onto the floor in a billowing cloud of fabric and dust. She took her sister's hand and pressed her palm to the glass. Something clicked inside her mind, some deep seated magic so ancient it felt natural to her. The mirror's edges glimmered gold, the pane of glass blackened, and Aurore's hand slipped through the solid surface. She clung to her sister's hand, the two of them heard the bolt rip out from between the stones in the wall. The man shouted in defeat, his wide footsteps managed to buy him enough time to tear a piece of pajama from one of the girls' ankles. His clenched fist collided with glass, the mirror stood whole and silently again as though it has always been as such, surely this man had been dreaming.

He sat on his knees, face red with rage, releasing a howl into the night so wretched and horrible it shook the bats from their trees, the storm edged back from the castle, and the very walls of the building itself shifted. His eyes burned with hatred and fury, their deep blue irises boiling beneath the very aura of his horrible anger. His knuckles turned white as he glared down at the fragment of soft pink pajama, it turned to smoke in his fingers and drifted into the now very still air, "You can't hide behind your mirrors forever, little girls," he spoke only to himself this time, a harsh whisper in the tainted night, "not forever...".


	2. Chapter 1: Thieves

**A/N:** Sorry, the beginning is fairly slow, but it will pick up I promise.

**Chapter 1: Thieves**

Sora stood leaning against the marble railing of their balcony, he was shirtless, his hair limped tiredly about in the soft breeze floating through the castle. His mind tried to wrap around what he'd seen that day, things he would never consciously understand until peaceful moments like these. He remembered the library, books torn from their shelves, desks upturned, papers scattered everywhere. Papers. So many papers. He shook his head to clear his mind again. No one had known who it was, how they had gotten in, and how they had made such a mess without making a single guard blink. Guards had been tripled in the library, live patrol walking the very book cases that had been so unlovingly cast about, but the culprit would not return to the scene and Sora knew that in the very depths of his heart. He just couldn't understand what they had taken, what they had needed so badly they couldn't step inside and ask for.

He nearly jumped off the edge when he felt the familiar, smooth arms wrap around his naked torso. Sora couldn't help but give in to a smile, placing a hand on her fragile fingers, "You should be asleep, Kairi."

"You know me better than that," he felt her cheek muscles tense against his back as she smiled gently. Her voice was always sweet, confident, powerful, but not now, not so late in the night. She was drowsy, he knew by the limp hold she usually kept so firm when she was around him.

He turned in her arms, lifting his hands to turn her face up to his. She was still grinning, her red hair a tousled mess atop her head. Sora kissed her, gently, and pushed her away. He turned her shoulders and led her back into the bedroom where he lay awake an hour longer before succumbing to sleep.

His long yellow coat flowed out behind him as he marched swiftly down the hallway, black leather pants swishing as they hit black leather boots. Silver buckles over his knees and thighs jingled in the deep nighttime still, his steel heels clicking the marble through the red carpet. The symbol on the back of his coat reflected the moonlight, a black fleur-de-lis heart stitched together with red threads. He had not zipped it together, his white turtleneck a glow in the unlit hallway. White hair hung a few inches past his shoulders, unkept bangs danced in front of caribbean blue eyes.

Riku's black gloved hand held an envelope, stamped with a foreign seal to Mickey's castle. He rapped on the side of the overwhelmingly large doors leading into the throne room, an unseen doorman popped the secret entrance open and he slipped through. He walked down the nearly endless hallway, starting to talk to his king before he was within a traditional distance, "It's happening in other places too, your highness. Studies and libraries missing pages from old books or files. Hollow Bastion isn't as impenetrable to this man's wiles as we thought," he tossed the envelope into the mouse's lap where Mickey proceeded to mull over whether or not it was worth opening, "Tripled guard duty after yesterday and no one saw him leave or enter tonight. What is going on here? Will you fill me in on the details or am I just going to run around delivering letters?"

Mickey was quiet for a few minutes, deciding Riku had told him whatever he may find in the letter and had probably made it sound better than it was written. He tapped a white gloved finger against the side of his black head, "Cloud?"

"No."

"Leon?"

"No."

"Aerith?"

"No."

"Who is this man?"

"I was hoping you would tell me that." Riku folded his arms over his chest indignantly.

Mickey looked up at him thoughtfully, his eyes stern and serious, "You're my advisor, Riku. I know what you know."

His defiant stature sagged a little and he diverted his gaze to a gaudy chandelier. Mickey was right, he hadn't been out any more than Riku had, it wasn't fair to insinuate he was being lied to.

"You and Sora go to Hollow Bastion tomorrow morning. I want you to find out what he took, let me know when you figure it out. In the mean time, I'll take stock of everything we have here and whatever has gone missing." Mickey rubbed his forehead, and got slowly to his feet. He handed the letter back to Riku who took it without question, "Good night, Riku."

He nodded and stared at the envelope. Riku moved like a ghost through the hallways, winding up the wide staircases and down the narrow corridors attracting barely any attention. If there was anything Ansem had taught him it was to enjoy being invisible in the night.

Sora moaned betrayal, trying to pull the covers over his head, "I'm not getting up. Do you have any idea what time I went to sleep last night? This is ridiculous! You're the people person, not me!"

Riku stood in the doorway, rolling his eyes dramatically, "Oh well aren't you the victim here. Just get up and be a prince and do princely things or whatever, ok? I need you to come with me, it's yo- our duty. Just do it, Sora."

Kairi stood at he foot of the bed, hands firmly on the waist of her pale pink skirt. Her pink sleeveless shirt had barely been zipped up, the white tanktop underneath made her royal crest pendant a silhouette against a dawn. She didn't wear gloves anymore, she preferred to show off her bracelet Sora had brought back from Agrabah one day, "Come on, just go. Riku needs you. What good are you to the worlds if you won't even do your job?"

He moaned pitifully again and sighed theatrically, "Fine! But I expect some sort of favor in return for this!"

Riku shook his head and began to walk away, "I'm not rewarding you for doing your job. Kairi, if you give him anything for this I swear I'll find out and have you dethroned too."

She laughed and closed the door, "Oh he's not getting anything special for this visit, don't worry." She was lying through her teeth, he knew it, but he let it go. Kairi kept Sora in line, no one cared how, they just appreciated her doing it. She tossed him his clothes and shook her head, "And they really expect you to accept that crown with habits like yours." There was a smile in her voice, even if it wasn't on her face. Sora grinned widely.

He pulled on the white t-shirt and red hooded jacket. He'd given up the youthful three-fourths overalls for a pair of dark blue full length pants, silver embroidery along the seams made the color swim. Three thin belts were bunched together on the bottom left pant leg, red, yellow, and lighter blue hankerchiefs sewn into the cloth on the same leg. He threaded a yellow belt covered in silver studs through the loops, pulling on his white and blue gloves and sliding the silver crown pendant over his neck. He definitely jingled less this way when he walked, Riku said it was essential for him to cut down on the amount of things he could trip over when he walked.

Sora ran his fingers through his hair a few times, ensuring the spiky mess was in order, and turned to face Kairi, "Princely?"

"Of course," she smiled and leaned up on the toes of her white and pink shoes to kiss his cheek, "Get going before Riku thinks I rewarded you."

He nodded and headed for the door, "And Sora?" he turned to look at her, his heart ached at the almost forlorn expression on her face, "Be safe."

Again, Sora nodded and gave her a thumbs-up, "Aren't I always?"

The door closed quietly and she smiled nostalgically, "No, not always." Kairi leaned against the foot of the bed, falling on her back and staring up at the light blue ceiling.

Riku pressed a few buttons and flipped a few switches, Chip and Dale bounded above his head moving levers and knobs every which way, "Hold on." he said calmly. Sora held on.

The Gummi Ship lurched forwards, then freefell down the chute and with a pop, was out into space. The low hum in the rear surged the ship forwards as the warp engine engaged. The blinders on the front shield closed and suddenly stars melted around them, turning into a tunnel of light. The ship rattled and jolted, a feeling of weightlessness took over for just a moment until the star tunnel suddenly came to a screeching halt. the warp engine kicked back the other way, stopping the ship suddenly. Sora's head hit one of the side panels and he cried out, "God! When are we getting the warp engine fixed? This whole brain scrambling thing isn't working out for me."

Riku laughed loudly, he'd been holding onto a bar above his head, his arm cushioned his head as they screamed to a crawl. He smiled wistfully at his friend, shaking his head with a chuckle, "After all your time running around in space and you still don't know where to put your head during a warp. Come on, Sora."

The two of them looked out the front as the blinders retracted, their playful expressions fading gravely. There were two other ships hovering above the landing strip at the Rising Falls, neither of them recognized the black phoenix emblem emblazoned on the side. Aside from the foreign ships, though, Hollow Bastion looked much the same as it had a year ago. The towering castle overtook the entire north end, the scattered houses littered the green grass until the south when the ruins took over. Rising Falls was just a sliver of the growing planet.

The Gummi Ship hovered above their drop-off point for a moment before lifting back into space, leaving Sora and Riku standing before the castle gates. Sora looked at Riku for a moment, "Think this has anything to do with last night?"

"Probably." Riku pulled up the hood of his long yellow jacket. Yellow didn't seem like such an intimidating color, but when it wrapped around someone like him, it was threatening.

They approached the castle without speaking to each other, both speculating on the foreign ships. By the time they noticed they were in town, they had already been greeted by dozens of people. Sora shook his head and smiled broadly, lifting a hand to familiar passers-by as they walked. Riku looked around warily, checking jackets, gloves, pendents, anything with that symbol on it. He found nothing.

Someone touched his shoulder and he turned sharply, a silvery glimmer radiating from his left palms. It stopped when he realized who it was. Yuffie smiled broadly at him, Aerith loomed behind her like a smiling pink shadow, "What are you doing here!"

He laughed nervously, embarrassed by his reaction, "The robbery at the palace has everyone sort of on edge. We're here to check out the damage done last night, maybe they left a clue or something."

She laughed brightly, "On another adventure then I guess?"

"Hopefully not," Riku sighed, "I'm adventured out for the rest of my life."

"No way!" Sora exclaimed, "Adventures are part of who we are, Riku. Without them, we'd never know the people we do. We'd never have made such wonderful friends if it weren't for adventures." He sighed wistfully, whispering loud enough so his friend could here, "I hope this takes us out into the universe again..."

Riku ignored him, "Anyway. Sorry we can't catch up, maybe we'll meet you again later?"

"Sure!" Yuffie clapped her hands together, "Scrooge has some ice cream festival he's trying to get the city pumped up for, maybe we can meet up there when you're done?"

"Yeah, of course." Sora said. Riku had already begun moving through the throngs of people waiting to say hello to both of them. He smiled and nodded as often as he could, waving when he thought it was necessary. Sora leaned close to him, "What's with you today? The damage isn't going to get up and walk away, we've got time to say hello."

"Those ships," he replied, "they make me nervous. I don't recognize them."

"Well me neither, but I'm not going to charge into the castle and demand an explanation. I'm sure they've got as good a reason as anyone else for being here." Sora sighed, folding his arms up behind his head. His footsteps came to a halt at the end of the long flight of steps leading to the castle gates.

Riku stood next to him, lips pressed firmly together. He reached out with one foot to start attacking the battalion of steps when his whole body went cold. He distinguished a shout above all other voices, someone unfamiliar. It's what they said that made his skin crawl.

"Heartless! Nobodies! Showing up all over! ...other side of the galaxy!"

He and Sora turned simultaneously, the silvery shimmer in his palm came to fruition: a long black keyblade. It's end was shaped like a roaring lion, the handle a tangle of vines, a ruby rose bloomed where they met the neck of the key, red light dripping from its petals like ethereal blood. The keychain jingled, it bore a glinting ruby rose like it's larger predecessor.

Sora's hand sparkled with golden light, the black and silver neck of his Ultima keyblade gleamed in the city glow. Both carried a stern expression on their face, both had lost the laughter in their eyes. They knew what Heartless meant, even more what Nobodies meant.

Whoever was taking the pages was tipping the balance of the universe on its side, spilling darkness down its surface.


	3. Chapter 2: Adventure

**A/N:** I went with the short chapter so get all the boring stuff out of the way. It's just to I can get things moving :) Sorry it's such a snooze!

**Chapter 2: Adventure**

A man pushed through the crowd that had gathered around the fountain in the center of town. He scaled its stone sides and ambled atop the head of the dragon that was graciously filling the structure with a crystal clear water, "You heard me!" he shouted as loud as he could.

Someone in the crowed let out a cry of surprise, someone else pushed her children towards her home. The man stood as tall as he could, his black hair rustling with the wind that had suddenly picked up, "They're assaulting our worlds, what's going to keep them from yours!"

"We have Sora!" someone yelled.

"Yeah! Sora will stop them!"

A roar of murmurs rippled through the crowd like a wave gathering at the edge of the sea. Sora and Riku stood behind a group of worried mothers and fathers, all mulling over what do to with the children. Riku's keyblade disappeared in a burst of tiny silver sparkles and he folded his arms over his chest with a frown, "Let's get inside the castle, I want to see what's going on before we talk about this."

Sora walked through a fading rain of gold and nodded, his expression still stern and worried, "Yeah, good idea."

They walked wordlessly back towards the castle gates, breaking into a run and bounding up the innumerable individual steps they had not so long ago dreaded. Riku and Sora tossed their weight into the heavy doors, the hinges cried out in anguish as they were forced wide open. Their chests heaved as their lungs fought for a decent breath, Sora slouched, overwhelmed by a feeling that he was going to be very sick. His friend took slow breaths in even patterns, his fists clenched tightly straining the leather over his knuckles.

There were figures silhouetted against the large window of the main hall for a moment, their colors and faces slowly came into focus against the awkward sun. Leon, Cloud, Beast, and a grave looking Merlin stood in a semicircle, all looking up towards the door as though they had been rudely interrupted. Sora suspected they had been.

Leon took a few steps towards them, ushering them inside. Some unknown attendant pushed the doors closed and they stepped towards the council of men, "Ansem reports."

"Pardon?" Sora said, raising an eyebrow as he rested a hand lightly on his spinning stomach.

"They took pieces of the Ansem reports." Beast growled. he couldn't help it, it was his curse.

Riku shot Sora a glance, lifting his hands to push his hood down over his shoulders again. He took a few steps into the middle of the room, "Have you heard what they're saying out there?" the men looked away, "Heartless and Nobodies and Dusks. That man on top of the fountain-"

"Harvey," Merlin chimed up, "His name is Harvey Turner. He claims his planet was destroyed by Heartless less than three weeks ago."

"Yes, right, Harvey is parading around telling us everything we've been through is for nothing. What if," Riku hesitated, not wanting to admit the possibility himself, "what if he's not crying wolf."

Cloud turned to look out the window, surveying Hollow Bastion below, "He's scared. Frightened people find company in other frightened people," he turned back to them, "Why do you think the Heartless have any power." It wasn't a question, it was a fact. One they all knew was right.

Sora cleared his throat, "If they took your Ansem reports, I'm sure that's what they took from us," everyone turned to look at him attentively. He felt his cheeks burn, the attention was over the top, "W-well...I'm not sure about Riku, but if what these people claim is true then we have to do something about it."

"What are you suggesting?" Riku knew exactly what he was suggesting.

Sora knew it too, "We go and see. It's the other side of the universe. Everything we've tried to protect has been on one side of the sun. We don't even know what's out there. We don't know who it is or why, if anyone's trying to help those people and their worlds. Riku, we don't even know if they have a door to the light!" It dawned on him that there were other people in the room and he took a step away from his friend.

Merlin nodded, so did everyone else in the room. Riku sighed, staring at the mosaic tiled floor. He wanted the mundane castle life he'd felt he deserved, the adventureless routine that came after risking everything that made him who he was. He had faced countless adversaries, risked his life countless times, infiltrated high security organizations, plunged his body into the very heart of darkness itself. He didn't want to do it again, to hurt himself or his friends again, he just wanted to...to deliver letters.

Sora cleared his throat and Riku jumped slightly, he realized he'd been staring at his palms and looked up. Leon, Merlin, and Beast had left, Cloud stood watching the city. He spoke low, if it weren't for the high ceilings they never would have heard him, "Sometimes someone can experience an event so painful, all they want to do is distance themselves from anything like it," the warrior turned, seemingly talking only to Riku now, "but other times, we need to accept that sometimes we cannot escape our fate." He walked past the two of them, patting Riku's shoulder as he swept up the wide staircase.

The men made eye contact, Riku's eyes brimmed with defeat and he averted his gaze quickly, "If we don't leave now, we'll never leave at all. Get on the ship, I'll contact the king. It's not exactly going to be a joyride of our lives."

Sora bit down hard on his lower lip to keep his grin at bay, his friend already knew how excited he was, but he figured it would be better not to push his luck. This was his duty as prince after all, he was Mickey predecessor. These worlds fell under his umbrella, he needed to protect them as he has everything else so far.

Riku lifted his hood over his head again, shadowing his eyes until they were nothing but tiny glimmering sapphires. He and Sora pressed against the door, letting the eerie orange sunlight pour over their faces, a mixture of resolution and excitement. They hadn't seen the dawn of an adventure together since that fateful day on Destiny Island nearly five years ago, but today they would set foot on this unexplored territory together. Together they would find their thieves and close whatever doors had been opened. Tomorrow was a new day, but he wouldn't be alone.


	4. Chapter 3: Treasure Planet

**A/N:** Here we go! Setting you guys up for a...rather long and involved story now that I look at it. Thanks for reading this far :)!

**Chapter 3: Treasure Planet**

The engine of the Gummi ship purred and thrummed as the epic journey of a lifetime chugged along at an alarmingly slow pace. Sora had taken off his big yellow and red sneakers, propping his feet up on the console and leaning back in his seat, arms folded up behind his head as he napped absently. Riku pushed his feet against the wall, rocking his seat as he stared at the ceiling, arms folded across his chest. His long yellow coat hung over the arm rest, pooling yellow and white on the floor. He let out a long, bored sigh, "I'm rethinking my decision to come with you just based on travel time, Sora."

His friend mumbled something in his half-sleep, shifting to find a more comfortable position. A loud ringing noise made him yell and thrash, his head hit the side of the wall with a bang and he yelled again, "Ouch! Jesus! What's going on!"

Chips voice whined through the intercom system, "We're approaching a planet, Sora."

"Yeah this one's a doozy!" Dale's voice, shrill and glassy chimed in their ears.

Riku had sat bolt upright in his chair, pressing a bright orange and pink button to draw the blinders back. His eyes widened, Sora leaned as close as he could get, "Wow...would you look at that! It's huge!"

The planet was strangely colored and shaped. The bottom half was a sparkling blue and green, they could make out tiny villages and large buildings they didn't quite know what to classify. The upper half, however, was dead and dry, gnarled shapes and dilapidated buildings speckled the landscape. The area where the living half and the dead half were divided was marred by a long black scar that ran the length of the planet.

"We've been given permission to land, here we go!" Chip chimed, aiming the ship towards a tiny strip of red lights dotting an open field area.

Both young men stared out the window, gripping their armrests tightly. This world was foreign and huge, the living and the dead on either side of a massive black scar marring the whole planet. It hurt Sora to see such a terrible black mark, to see a world that could possibly have been beautiful once now divided by fear and dead things.

It seemed as though they were landing in an empty field. Only a few houses dotted the area around the docking strip, everything else was clustered in a fairly large town south of the bay. Riku and Sora hopped down from their ship, waving over their shoulders to Chip and Dale. They walked carefully, taking in the vast crystal blue sky - and the ominous orange fire smoke clouds that loomed beyond they great black canyon. Sora touched Riku's arm and they both stopped. A man was running towards them, his features looked alarmingly like a dog wearing glasses and walking upright. He was wearing simple clothing, save for an inkblot on the bottom of his breast pocket. The man huffed and puffed when he reached them, "Good day, gentlemen!"

"Uh...g-good day to you too," Sora and his friend exchanged looks.

"Doctor Doppler at your service. Doc, for short if you don't mind." He straightened up, tugging at the front of his vest and grinning broadly. They saw then that he didn't just look like a dog-man, he was a dog-man, "I suppose you're here to talk with us about our - ahem - problem?"

Riku nodded, "Yes, we are."

"Good, please come with me." They followed him down the rest of the docking strip towards the bustling town that lay ahead.

--

Doc stopped and motioned toward a bar that may have been mistaken for closed if it wasn't for a small sign against the glass door reading 'Open', they lights looked off and the windows looked closed. A large wooden sign hung above the building that read 'Long John Silver's' had been mysteriously illuminated in the woodwork. They stepped inside and looked around, only a few customers sat huddled in one corner, everything else was empty.

A woman dressed as a bar wench approached them, a cheerful smile on her face, "Afternoon strangers, please have a seat anywhere you like. I'll bring you some waters."

They nodded and sat down at the big window across from Doc. The dog-man folded his hands idly on the table, smiling at the woman when she placed the cup in front of him, "Thank you, Sarah," she nodded and walked back towards the kitchen door, "Down to business I suppose?"

"Please," Sora said, "We need to know everything."

"Very well then," he adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat, "You see, a very long time ago, this planet was completely green. It was all beautiful and all linked together, not separate as we know it now. There was a manor on the other side, very large and very splendid. A man moved in with his wife, newlyweds if I remember right. Well, she passed away shortly after childbirth and the man shut himself up very tight inside with his child. No one saw him for a number of years. One night, about ten years ago now, there was a horrible storm that swept over the world. It was unexpected, no one saw it coming. The very next day, the manor has disappeared. It just...vanished into thin air," he paused to take a sip from his water, Riku and Sora glanced sidelong at one another solemnly, "Then the dead things started. Slowly, the grass began to die, then the trees, then the sky, then the animals...then the people. What scared the people of Treasure Planet most was how perfectly divided everything was. There was a precise line where the death started and where it ended."

Sora clasped his hands around the glass, the condensation seeping through the white leather of his gloves, "What about that scar. What's that thing about?"

Doctor Doppler adjusted his glasses again, a nervous habit Sora figured, and cleared his throat, "We call that the Dead Sea. Nothing grows for a mile across, nothing lives there."

"But why did it get to be the worst in that part?"

"It wasn't at first. The guardians made it that way," Doppler continued, "We're not sure where exactly they came from, but we were fortunate enough to meet people who could seal the death away. They did, by means of the Dead Sea. There's a special kind of magic planted deep in the soil all around the roots of the tree, it keeps the creatures that live on the other side at bay. For some reason, they are unable to cross it. We don't ask why, we don't want to know as long as it works."

Riku leaned on his elbows and folded his hands, "If you have these guardians, why send for help from us?"

The doctor again made his routine glasses check and throat clearing. He seemed on edge, nervously turning his voice town to a harsh whisper he felt only they could hear, "The guardians have disappeared. No one has seen them for almost a four days now. Sarah Hawkins, she owns this fine establishment, says she saw one of them headed across the Dead Sea over to the other side. No one is going after them, we don't cross the Sea for any reason. The only thing over there is death and ruin."

He seemed to have concluded his tale, staring inquisitively at both of them. His eyes were serious, black marbles in his head. He was obviously concerned for the safety and well-being of these people. Sora lifted his hands and folded them behind his head, enjoying the cold water dripping off his palms, "You want us to go find them." A fact, not a question.

Doppler nodded slowly. His resolution and determination had fled him for a moment, but he nodded, "Yes."

Sora stared at the ceiling for a moment, rolling over in his head all the different ways this could end up for him and his closest friend. He turned his head down to look at Doc with a broad, enthusiastic grin on his face, "You got it!"

Riku's shoulders heaved with a sigh and he looked out the window at the lurking orange-gray clouds in the distance. He looked back at the doctor, who stared at him as intently as Sora was doing, and nodded, "All right. Only one of them left?"

Doc faltered again, "Well...you see...I wish it were that way, but the other is missing as well. There's only two of them."

He sighed and shook his head, "We'll try to find them. If we encounter one, the other can't be far away. If they're guardians, they'll be sticking together I think."

"Splendid!" Doc stood up and reached out to shake their hands. Both men stood up as well, taking his firm grip politely, "There's a room prepared for both of you upstairs. Don't worry about the cost, Sarah has it covered. Please, I live just past the statue of the Musketeers, come find me if you need anything else!"

As he headed towards the door, Riku stopped him, "Where exactly was this manor you mentioned?"

"Oh of course," Doc stood next to him and pointed west, "Beside the thickest tree. It's not as difficult to spot as I make it sound." He smiled, almost sadly, and shook their hands once again, "Do take care. Those creatures have been coming to the border of the Sea every night, there are so many of them some nights it's hard to find the other side." His final words to them were ominous, but he turned and left anyway with a wave to Sarah, the waitress wiping her hands idly in the corner as she watched them.

Riku and Sora stared at each other for a moment, Riku spoke first, "I think we should speak about some of this alone, don't you?" Sora nodded. He walked towards Sarah, extending a hand to her slowly and smiling as cheerfully as he could, "Hello, Mrs. Hawkins. I believe Doc said we had a room here?"

--

Sora sat on the edge of the bed, staring at his feet against the carpet. Riku leaned back in the armchair beside the small window facing the street, "Guardians. And that missing mansion."

"The creatures, Heartless I bet. He said they swarm to the edges of that Sea or whatever," Sora looked up at his friend, "Four days ago those guardians disappeared. That would make them gone the day the castle was ransacked."

"Yeah, and they would've been gone yesterday as well, the day Hollow Bastion was assaulted," Riku looked over at him, caribbean blue eyes full of conviction, "I'm willing to bet munny that they're our thieves." Sora looked at him rather startled, "I don't know why I think that, but I'm sure of it."

He looked down and sighed, staring at his shoes again, "We're going tonight, aren't we? When Doc said the Heartless gather at the border."

"Of course," Riku smiled at him rather bemused, "You wanted an adventure? This is shaping up to be a good one."


	5. Chapter 4: Library

**A/N:** First time writing an action scene in a long time. Give me input!

**Chapter 4: Library**

Riku stood motionless on the street, staring west at the lurking black clouds that hung ominous in the distance. His palm glittered silver and his keyblade's chain jingled in the warm night air. Sora closed the door behind him gently and walked down the steps to join him, his fingers wrapping smoothly around the hilt of his Ultima keyblade. He sighed and looked the direction Riku was,"Let's get moving, before someone asks questions."

Riku almost smiled, staring down the empty streets as he pulled the hood of his long coat up over his eggshell white hair. The two of them started to walk down the deserted road, breaking into a brisk jog after a few moments. Buildings blurred past them, bronze sculptures, lit up signs, a handful of passers-by, all just colors as they ran into the night. The end of town was obvious, the Dead Sea even more so. Sora's grip tightened on his keyblade as he gazed across the black dead strip in front of him. Hundreds of tiny yellow glowing eyes searched the night, their individual shapes were indefinable against the Sea and the black clouds hovering above them. Riku stepped back with one foot, leaning forwards and arcing his keyblade forward as though he were ready to lunge. Sora followed suit, two hands gripping the solid handle of his faithful weapon straight forwards, his legs spread and knees bent. He narrowed his eyes as he scanned the crowd of Heartless.

"Are you ready?" Riku's voice was a low thrum on the air, the menace in his tone unmistakeable. He was ready.

Sora nodded, as though Riku would be able to make out his gesture in the dark, "Let's do this."

The two of them ran forwards soundlessly, barely even blinking when they set foot onto the other side of the Sea. Sora's keyblade crashed into the crowd of heartless, the singing of the metal familiar in his ears. He pivoted on one foot, whirling they keyblade around him as the Heartless surged forwards on top of them. Riku fought wordlessly by his side, spinning his weapon like a fan as he knocked the black shapes back. Sora felt as though he was wading through an ocean of tar, the creatures grabbed at his feet and took swings at his back and his legs. He felt his foot touch solid ground and turned to look above him. A black shape with narrow yellow eyes leaped into the air, a clawed hand outstretched and coming down on Sora. He pushed off the ground, throwing his left hand around and up toward the assailant, spiraling upwards and striking the Heartless straight in the chest. He chased it upwards, slashing with his keyblade as he became more airborne. The creature disappeared into a spill of dark cloud fading into the air. Sora looked below him at the creatures fighting to climb the air with him. His expression narrowed and he arced the keyblade downwards, slamming it into body after body until its end buried into the soil. He ripped it back out, turning and lunging at a large bodied Heartless' back. The creature was forced to its knees, stunned for a moment as he spun and stabbed at it until it melted into a dark cloud, just like all the others.

Riku gripped his keyblade with both hands, pushing against the surge of Heartless. He slashed backwards, slingshotting his arm forwards as he cut into as many dark bodies as he could find in the blind field. He saw Sora lift off the ground and propel himself upwards, turning on his heel and spinning his keyblade as a large, clawed creature attempted to take him by surprise from above. He ran forwards as best he good, fixed on a man-sized black creature, and hacked forwards, slashing at the creatures midsection. It crumpled along with hundreds of others into a fading black smoke that dissolved in the air. Riku paused and turned to look behind him. The Heartless weren't following him as far back as this. In fact, they had closed their ranks and continued to stare at the town beyond the scar, sleeping under the stars. His arms tensed as he felt something move beside him, whirling to find Sora, breathless and confused, standing beside him.

He lowered his keyblade just a little, "They're not following."

Sora shook his head, "No," he gasped for breath, "Why."

"I don't know. Don't let your guard down, Sora, we gotta keep moving." Riku grabbed his elbow and turned him around, running deeper into the heart of the other side of the scar, the Dead Side. They ran into the dry woods, gnarled old branches grabbing at their clothing as they bolted past.

Sora slowed his pace first, looking over his shoulder warily. Riku followed suit, checking the Heartless behind them. The creatures were stationary, as though Riku and Sora had never clashed with their ranks at all. Sora frowned, "I don't know what to worry about more, the fact that there are so many Heartless...or where they all came from."

"I'd go with both." Neither would let go of their keyblade, walking through the gnarled old once-forest at a pace close to a jog, "So where do you think this place is?"

Sora shrugged, "No idea." He rested the edge of his keyblade along the back of his neck, gaze shifting among the shadows in the trees. He saw no sign of other Heartless, but couldn't shake the feeling they were being watched. It wasn't a threatening feeling, but the fact that it was there made his skin crawl. Neither of them knew what to look for or how to find it, the dead forest was a never-ending maze of old wood and sticks, dry brush crunched under their feet as they walked the direction Doc had pointed.

"This is hopeless," Riku sighed, "Wild goose chase I th-"

His friend was pointing ahead of them, eyes wide. Riku turned to look through the thicket of dead trees and stared. Through the tree wall lay a dead field, brown and lifeless, and in the center of the field they stood a marvelously large tree. It's trunk couldn't have been any thinner than an elephant's leg, a tangle of branches stuck out in every direction as if it were reaching for a hand from heaven to breath life into it once more. The young men approached the tree with caution, splitting their forces to circle its massive trunk. Sora wound up on Riku's side, his friend pointed the tip of his keyblade at a dilapidated building almost completely covered by rotted foliage, "There's a light on in there."

He narrowed his eyes at a tall stained glass window and waited. It was faint, but there was definitely a glimmer of light eminating from somewhere in the building. The two of them picked up speed again, the rush of air was warm in their faces, it made Sora's eyes water. They didn't have time to waste tonight, they didn't know when dawn hit this planet. This planet. Sora felt guilty for a moment. He had spent his whole career as a keyblade wielder defending the planets on the other side of the sun that he barely even realized that there was a whole different galaxy just over the horizon. He didn't want to think about it anymore, what kind of experiments Xehanort may have run over here, what kinds of heartless lay inside that building all because of one man's greed.

Riku's arm shot straight out across Sora's chest, stopping him in his tracks. He pushed gently on the door they had chosen to approach. Its hinges moaned softly as the metal door was pushed further until it clunked against the wall behind. He stepped carefully inside, wary of the cracked marble tiles and the peeling blue paint on the high walls. Windows were black with dead plant entrails, panes broken by long dead vines trying to hide inside the building. Something stirred in a darkened alcove, both he and Sora aimed their keyblades towards the noise. A wobbling in the air made Riku lunge forwards, his weapon striking something that rose up from the broken tiles in a spill of black smoke. He danced backwards towards his friend and they stared into the depths of the alcove. The size of a man, this Heartless' head was in the center of its body. Six arms stretched out for them at different lengths from a round shape. Each arm bore a claw, each claw bore a chain. It swung the chains around rapidly, a wild shriek coming from its head

"Strike the head, Sora!" Riku cried as he ran forwards, two hands heaving his blade upwards towards the round shape in the creature's middle. One of the chains came rushing towards his head, he glanced upwards and ducked, rolling out of the way. Sora leaped into the air, kicking a leg forwards and lifting his keyblade high above his head. He brought it down in a deep arc, the Heartless wailed again and brought its six arms together in a gigantic clap. Sora yelled, caught in the middle, and Riku ducked under the arms, stabbing his blade upwards into its face. Screeching, the heartless released Sora from its grasp and toppled backwards, fading into a cloud of smoke before it even hit the ground.

The men stood there and watched the area where it had fallen for a moment, Sora turned and began to jog briskly down the hallway again, "I doubt that's the only kind in here."

"You're probably right."

They turned in a series of rights and lefts, leaping over fallen furniture and overgrown vines. The Banshee Heartless, as they had been christened by Sora due to their horrible yowls, only seemed to spring in alcoves where statues once stood. They decided to steer as clear as they could.

They both paused when they reached a wide hallway, two decent sized doors reared up against the yellowed wall. The light they had seen leaked from under the door. As they walked closer, Riku pointed above the door, "Library" was etched onto a faded white and green plaque above the frame, "This seems appropriate. It's the only room in either castle that was touched during the robberi-"

Someone screamed inside.

"Hey!" Sora yelled, lifting his weapon and running towards the door, "There's someone in there!" Riku followed him, his eyes narrowed and gleaming under his hood. There were definitely people in there, he was hoping it was his thieves.

They threw their weight into the doors and they both slammed open, hitting the walls beside the frame. Riku gasped. A huge monstrous black think stood in the middle of the room. It's jaw was filled with teeth, eyes red and crazed. It sat with its knees bent, leaning on its hands like a gorilla would have. The fleur-de-lis stitched heart was printed upon its spined back. The Heartless roared, something knocked into its head and a burst of snowflakes hit it square in the eye. It flailed for a moment, temporarily half blinded, and let out another deafening roar.

Sora took a step forward, movement on his left made him turn his head. He stared for a moment in disbelief. A girl stood against the back wall, her silver hair so long it touched her waist. She was wearing a black long sleeved shirt with a high neck, zipped in the front with a pocket on either breast. The shoulders were only open a little at the seam, revealing a half-moon of cream colored flesh. She wore a rather modestly short pink skirt, three black belts intersected from either hip. Her red eyes gleamed from beneath thin gold-rimmed glasses. She looked no older than nineteen. The rod in her hand shimmered and she passed her hand over the blue and white teardrop shape on top of the brown handle, lightning shot from the ceiling and struck through the monster's head. She passed her hand over the top of the wand again, a wreath of fire closing in on its features.

But the Heartless wasn't focused on her, he realized. She stood there casting her spells and all the while it lifted its arms and pounded its fists into another target. He didn't have time to think about it, he just ran for the head. He pushed off the ground with his right foot, bringing his keyblade down on the Heartless' head. Using the momentum from the strike, he whirled around and hit it twice in the jaw, lunging forwards and hitting the thing in the neck before his feet touched the ground again. Riku sailed over his head, leaping at the bent knee and pushing off in a ricochet towards the looming head. The monster roared in pain as he rolled onto his back in the air, slashing four or five times at its jaw before bringing his feet around and touching the ground.

Still the Heartless wasn't interested in them. Sora only had a moment to glance at its intended target, but that was all he needed. Another girl, wispy black bangs covering her left eye almost completely, the rest spilled down her back in a black tidal wave. She wore a metal gauntlet and shoulder armor only on her left arm, the right was free of silver. Both her feet were covered in strange metal greaves, stopping mid-calf while a large spine continued upwards to cover her knees. Her chest was covered in a chest plate, the armor came to a v-shape at her pelvis where two wide strips of violet cloth hung down to her ankles. She had a pair of black shorts on underneath the violet cloth, though he could only see a smidgeon of them. The girl lifted a great two-handed sword, nearly the size that she was, its end curved outwards like a scimitar with a series of barbs carved running along the spine. She turned sharply, heaving the heavy sword around in a circle. The Heartless was knocked backwards. All four of them took the opportunity and unleashed everything they could on its head and neck. The creature emitted one last shriek and vanished into a cloud of black smoke with a loud popping noise.

The armored girl wasted no time, lifting her sword and pointing it at Sora, who did the same with his keyblade. The magician aimed the point of her teardrop wand at Riku and he his weapon at her. They stared at one another for a long while until the armored girl spoke without removing her sword, "Thank you."

Sora nodded, keeping his up as well, "We're here to help."

"Would you mind telling us what you're doing all the way out here." Riku.

"The magician smiled slightly, "Would you believe we were just tourists?"

"No."

"Well then I guess we can't say."

Sora sighed, he was sure this circle wouldn't end until someone's arm fell off. He lowered his keyblade and motioned for Riku to do the same. He made eye contact with the warrior woman, her red eyes ablaze with curiosity...or was it fear? She didn't put her sword down, but she let him speak, "My name's Sora. This is Riku. We're here to investigate the disturbances over on this side of the Dead Sea."

"You mean the Heartless," the magician had lowered her wand and looked at Sora now, "They're called Heartless."

He tilted his head and maintained his smile, "Yeah, those things. So what are you two doing here?"

The other woman lowered her blade slowly, defiantly staring down her friend, "Looking. What does it matter? We got what we need and if you two know what's good for you, you'll get out of here."

Riku chuckled slightly, "That would be nice, but you see, we can't do that. Something isn't right here and we've got to fix it to make these Heartless disappear," he waited a moment and turned to face Sora and the woman with the sword, "We told you our names, would you mind doing the same?"

"Dellyn and Aurore," the magician smiled gently at him, ignoring the acid look she received from Aurore, "We're on a mission to get rid of these Heartless, too."

"Dellyn." Aurore said commandingly, "Please." She looked up at Riku, grabbing something off the ground. It was a purple cloak which she attached to her shoulderguard and to a hook on the leather strap holding her armor up on the right side. It fell down to the floor and then some, pooling at her feet, "We'll get out of your way." As she headed towards the door, she heard her friend call her name. Both keyblades were pointed in her direction. She smirked slightly, "So I'm not allowed to leave. That's fine. As long as you're willing to fight for that conviction."

There was a melody of metal as she pulled the large blade from the marble up into her hands, gripping the blade firmly and holding its hilt above her shoulder. Footsteps clattered on the ground from Dellyn's black heeled boots. Her friend's shoulder touched hers and she aimed her wand at the young men.


	6. Chapter 5: Negotiaton

**A/N:** This is, I think, the farthest I have ever solo-written one story. I replayed Kingdom Hearts today so my motivation level is high :)

**Chapter 5: Negotiation**

The staredown continued, both girls aimed at Sora and Riku. No one moved, everyone barely bold enough to take a breath. Aurore's glower was the coldest, despite the burning red irises, "We have things to do and not a whole lot of time in which to do them. It would be greatly appreciated if you would back off."

Riku chuckled grimly, "That's it? You expect us to just go away?" She smiled slightly and nodded her head once, that sent him into giggles, "Are you going to confront whoever is letting these things in and just kindly ask them to stop, too?"

Something hot whirled by his head, the tip of Dellyn's wand smoked slightly and she scowled at him. She had taken off her glasses and placed them in her breast pocket, her eyes were burningly bright, the same color as Aurore's. Riku relaxed, lowering his keyblade and straightening up. He reached out into the air. He saw both their hands tighten on their weapons and smile, the air rippling heat around him. He pulled his hand in towards his chest and made a slashing motion in the air. An invisible wind pushed past his head, lurching forwards as it twisted into the shape of a spiraling flame. Dellyn lifted her wand and closed her eyes, the ground glowing under her feet. Her hair lifted as the breeze Riku created began to build. Something glimmered in front of her and she opened her eyes, smirking. He opened his mouth to yell, raising an arm to protect himself from the reflected spell. It burned at his arm and forehead, singing the tips of his hair. He threw his arm down, wildly trying to beat out the small fire that had started at the edge of his sleeve.

Sora had reached out to help him, running towards him. The wide blade of Aurore's strange sword thronged as it landed right in his path, marble dust flying everywhere when the blade buried itself deep in the ground. He jerked to a stop, turning to face his assailant and began to back up. She had leaped into the air, feet landing hard on the ground in front of her buried sword. She grabbed the handle with both hands and pulled it free, whirling around her body. He danced backwards, lifting his arms up so she didn't knock his keyblade free. She swung the blade around and up, bringing it down hard into the ground just inches from his feet. His sneakers slid on the marble as he readied his keyblade, pushing forwards and charging at her. His window was small, but he had long since been adjusted to small windows of opportunity.

Riku had put out the fire and taken a few steps back from Dellyn, his shoulder cocked backwards and the end of his keyblade aimed right at her. She didn't move, only watched him. Something in her expression was sad, hesitant to attack him now. She clutched the wand close to her chest and biting her lower lip, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you but...I can't let you hurt my sister either." Now she readied her want, pointing the top of the blue and white teardrop at him. The blue stripes glimmered faintly, "Please let us leave."

Aurore took a step behind herself and turned her shoulders, ducking as Sora's keyblade spun behind him. She twisted around him, away from her sword, and evaded an upward slash. He stopped attacking, smiling a little. He'd separated her from her deadliest weapon and had her an bladepoint, "I'm warning you not to move. Please, let's just work something out together. This can't be the only way."

Something in the belly of the building grumbled and ground, like gears of an old clock starting to tick agin. Everyone dropped their guard, looking up at the ceiling as though it were going to cave in. Aurore seized her opportunity and rushed past Sora, digging the blade from the marble again. He pivoted and readied himself against her onslaught, it had been stupid to look away. She didn't attack him. She slung the sword over her shoulder and clicked it into the steel tabs that held it to her back, "Look what you've done! God damnit! Run!"

She grabbed Sora's hand, tugging him forwards and taking her sister's too. Riku chased after the three of them, listening to chunks of heavy stone break loose from the walls and shatter on the ground. He heard he crunch of a wooden table behind him, books tumbling to the ground as they were shaken from the shelves. They turned sharply into the hallway they hadn't entered before, shadows growing out of the ground in the translucent moonlight. Beady yellow eyes followed them down the corridor, thick claws reaching out to grab their clothing. He heard the familiar pop of dying heartless and turned his eyes back to the girl leading them out into the field. Her sword was cocked as she ran, the blade cutting through dark liquid body after dark liquid body. Sparks flew around them, lightning raining down from the sky. Dellyn had lifted her wand into the air, still running through the dead grass. They were headed for the scar.

Sora realized it as well, he and Riku spreading out from the steady line they had held. Both had their keyblades lifted to attack the throws of Heartless waiting at the border. Just for a fleeting second, he felt fear. Thousands of yellow eyes weren't focused on the Dead Sea anymore, they were focused at the oncoming attackers. Something on that side had told them to attack them.

He didn't have time to be scared long, his keyblade driving into the chest of a Gargoyle Knight. It roared, lost among the roars and cries of hundreds of heartless as they faded into the night. Four strangers fought their way through a sea of black creatures, pushing towards their only line of safety and freedom anywhere on this half of the planet.

--

Riku roared out and leaped forwards, throwing his body into the charred ground of the Dead Sea. He dug his hands into the ground and pulled, dragging himself free of the clawed hands. Riku sat up and pushed himself backwards, ambling to his feet and reaching his arm back behind him. With a yell of triumph, the threw his keyblade at a pair of Air Pirates that tried to lift the struggling Dellyn to her feet. They howled and disappeared, she fell to the ground with an exhausted thud and gathered what strength she could to get to her feet. Her wand glowed and he heard a rush of wind in rewind, her weakened body surrounded by a diligent shield of air that forced her attackers back. Dellyn made a break for it, hurtling herself into the sea. A cloud of ash seeped into the sky and she scrambled back to where Riku sat, fighting for breath.

Aurore leaped upwards out of the ocean of shadows, sword arced high over her head. She slashed downwards and the horizontally, pushing off her feet and leaping into the cracked ground of the scar. She rolled on her shoulders and moaned painfully, grabbing her left arm. Sora skidded across the ground, digging the end of his keyblade into the earth to slow himself down. He cried out as he felt the dead earth burn against the exposed fingers of his free hand, falling to his knees when he finally halted and grabbing hold of his wrist.

Riku and Dellyn sat for a moment, their lungs screaming for air, Dellyn gave up and dropped onto her back, sweat pouring down her forehead. Riku moved onto his knees, an overwhelming feeling of nausea growing in his stomach, "Sora...are you...ok?" he gasped between oncoming attacks of a dire need to vomit.

"You won't ever understand how much this hurts," he clutched his hand gently in his hand as thought it were a small child he was shielding from the world. His eyes brimmed with tears of pain as he stared down at the blistered skin. Chunks of burned wood had dug deep into his palm, he thought he imagined shards of glass from burned windows.

Aurore got to her feet and walked towards him, abandoning the sword in the dirt for a while. She dropped down and took his palm , examining it in the gray dawn light that had started to bloom on the town behind them. She lifted her hand and gently pulled out the first sliver of charred wood, she tightened her grip on his wrist as he tried to pull away. She ignored his pleas to let him go and grabbed another shard of wood and pulled it out. Sliver after sliver, Aurore purged his hand of the tiny painful remnants of their battle for safety as Sora yowled and moaned in pain. Finally she let him go, holding a shard of glass between her thumb and forefinger, "Windows." she said, referring to where the glass had come from.

Sora stared at his hand. It looked like an angry bloody sponge. He cradled it against his chest again, shaking his head when Dellyn tried to take it back again. She lifted her wand and touched it to what she was allowed to see of his hand. A tinkle of chimes echoed in the early morning, a soft green glow seemed to be absorbed through the bleeding holes in his palm. Slowly, they mended together, the blisters faded, the scrapes melted back together. He looked up at her and grinned broadly, "Thanks."

Dellyn smiled and nodded, Aurore following in suit. Both girls hated it, but they were drawn to the young man. He was just shy of a year younger, clumsy, hopeful, and optimistic. Something about him made them feel good inside.

Riku got up and stood beside them, his legs wobbly from nearly losing everything he had eaten that day. Somewhere in the mayhem his hood had fallen back, exposing his long white hair. He brushed his bangs aside and looked back towards the town. Dawn had already turned a petal pink, sprinkling the sky with a light blue haze. He even saw silhouettes begin to move about the houses. He turned and looked back where they had come from, tightening his lips in a thin line. All the dark shapes they had spent so long pushing back had disappeared.

Dellyn got to her feet and sighed, placing her hands on her hips, "Don't ask me," she said without him speaking, "You probably know more about those things than we do."

Sora looked up at her, then back to Aurore, "So...how do you guys know about the Heartless?"

The warrior smiled gently at him, "Some other time. I'm not in a storytelling mood, I hope you can understand why."

Riku turned to face her, staring down at her and folding his arms over his chest. She turned her gaze to meet his and her eyes narrowed. He looked her up and down slowly, gauging her, "Will you leave if we go into town and rest?"

She sighed, not in any physical shape to fight and argue. The Heartless had looked easy enough, they seemed to be mostly the smallest ones. But somewhere in the center there had been big ones, really big ones. She remembered the deafening roar of the Behemoth and flinched, thinking about it made her want to pass out, "I'm not really in a running away sort of position right now. We just want a bed and a good day's sleep if that's all right with you." They liked Riku, too, but he made things difficult.

Sora jumped to his feet, Aurore easing to hers. She jumped slightly when she felt a gloved hand on her elbow and looked to see the spiny mop of brown hair beaming at her. She smiled back and dusted herself off, walking over to her sword and prying it out of the dirt. Dellyn shook her head at her in disbelief, unable to understand how she could carry such a heavy thing as though it weighed nothing, even after all they went through. Sora folded his arms behind his head as they began to walk to the town, "You promise you won't leave?"

"Promise!" Dellyn clasped her hands behind her back and grinned at him, "We might not be on the same team, but that doesn't mean we're not honorable people, you know."

No one spoke after that, the four of them trudging slowly east towards the sunrise.


End file.
